Huntington University is one of the most conservative, evangelical Christian universities out there. Sadly, these kids are taught to trust their elders and leaders without question, spun stories about how the secular world is seeking to bring down good Christians and Christian organizations, and when transgressed against to forgive those who have abused them.
I grew up adjacent to Christian evangelicalism, and have many friends and family who swum in the deep ends of those waters. Some still do, some got out. Many did not stay safe.
Nothing will happen to the good Christian leaders of Huntington University from Huntington. They are beyond reproach, or at most subject to good old fashioned Christian Reconciliation.
The Johnsons may not be there in the future, but they will replace one set of predators with another, chosen by the predators at the top who are running the place.
This is not to say you cannot have a good experience at Huntington or other ultra conservative Christian universities. You may fly under the radar of predators and make it out fine, none the wiser to what happens to some of your peers (because you're not to ask questions, of course).
I feel for these kids. Yes, they should get way, and know better than to come in the first place. Yet, they've been trained all their life, in many cases, not to question authority and to accept the excuses of those who abuse and prey on others and practice the same forgiveness that will be denied to them if they even step a toe out of line.
I understand that you hate evangelical Christianity but at least try to make an intellectually honest argument. There are unfortunately tons of cases like this in our world, the majority not being at Christian institutions. Why are we supposed to believe that it’s Christian teachings that enabled this at Huntington when this occurs across institutions across all worldviews and religious traditions?
I can’t think of any evangelical Christian that wouldn’t want justice for everyone involved and anyone who does not is acting contrary to the Bible. The idea that evangelical Christians are taught to trust leaders without question is simply false. As is your accusation that these institutions are filled with predators seeking to take advantage of others.
Evangelical Christians should and do oppose this type of behavior more staunchly than any other group. It was predominantly Christians who brought about the end of slavery, segregation and child labor. It’s predominantly Christian organizations that fight human trafficking and serve the victims of sexual abuse. The fact that some supposed “Christians” are acting contrary to the teachings of evangelical Christianity does not show that it is their teachings that enable this type of abuse.
If Huntington was acting in accordance to biblical Christianity, they would have done everything in their power to protect that victims and bring justice against the Johnsons.
Too little, too late, for athletes that don't deserve to have consequences. What about their track program? Like this didn't exist there?! The AD should be walked out, the president out, and an outside entity fully investigate all admin while overseeing the operations of the school. When enough is swept under the rug, the pile becomes too large to ignore and it will come out. You can never fully experience institutional consequences equal to the negative impact this had on those athletes' lives.
The people running these Christian schools are pretty much a cult hiding behind the first amendment. This Huntington business is just the tip of the iceberg.
Does that include AW who was coached by LJ, during the Neideck days? Even he eventually, admitted that he wasn't coaching AW
Neideck got attacked pretty viciously on these boards all of last year, mostly by the same people defending NJ and AW. There clearly seems to be some bad blood between those two parties. I think it's pretty obvious to everyone that they continued to coach AW even after LJ was fired. Even while Neideck was there, Roark was the head of both programs and seemed to have allowed this. I think it took Neideck a little while to fully realize the mess he had walked into and then got out of there as fast as he could along with his Cornerstone athletes. The program has repeatedly refused to cut ties with the Johnsons despite the obvious sexual assault and doping issues. Everything needs to be vacated and the NAIA needs to makes sure that their is some actual accountability for the staff members that have allowed this.
He or she who thinks Neideck left on own, doesn't know why he left. It wasn't his choice. The dude was liked less than the Johnson's around campus and thats saying something. You are correct, Roark didn't care he just wanted to win and have his cash cow wearing one of those hideous uniforms wherever she was racing.
Strange how Addy Wiley suddenly burst on the High School running scene as a senior with top marks and National Records. Do they drug test in High School, because Marion Jones still holds HS records. So she probably was recruited by NC State, maybe BYU, ALL the top NCAA colleges, commits to Boulder. BTW- what happened to Natalie Cook? But Addy gives up full ride scholarship and a good NCAA team for... Huntington "Junior College." Ya right. Do they drug test athletes at that fake college? Addy is so shady! It would be like if Katelyn Tuohy gave up a full ride to NC State to go to Cal State Bakersfield!
I'm curious about what the optics are towards Addy Wiley from the current Huntington team after the suspension. I'm pretty sure if my season went to pot because a former, now pro athlete supported the Johnsons and is training around the Huntington facilities, I’d be pretty disgruntled towards them, transfer out immediately and demand a refund on tuition.
Strange how Addy Wiley suddenly burst on the High School running scene as a senior with top marks and National Records. Do they drug test in High School, because Marion Jones still holds HS records. So she probably was recruited by NC State, maybe BYU, ALL the top NCAA colleges, commits to Boulder. BTW- what happened to Natalie Cook? But Addy gives up full ride scholarship and a good NCAA team for... Huntington "Junior College." Ya right. Do they drug test athletes at that fake college? Addy is so shady! It would be like if Katelyn Tuohy gave up a full ride to NC State to go to Cal State Bakersfield!
Biggest lie on this message board. You might want to take a look at her results. Wiley has a very smooth, even progression from her freshman year until now. NEVER had a single jump in performance. Not even once. Her biggest jump was as a freshman in college, not even in high school. And she didn't suddenly come out of nowhere as a senior- she was state champion as a freshman in 4:46 with zero running background and won high school nationals as a junior. But don't let the facts and the truth get in the way of a good lie.
Now if you want to talk HUGE out of nowhere improvements, you should look at Tuohy's race history. It looks like a roller coaster at an amusement park - impossible improvements followed by drops that look like the Grand Canyon.
Strange how Addy Wiley suddenly burst on the High School running scene as a senior with top marks and National Records. Do they drug test in High School, because Marion Jones still holds HS records. So she probably was recruited by NC State, maybe BYU, ALL the top NCAA colleges, commits to Boulder. BTW- what happened to Natalie Cook? But Addy gives up full ride scholarship and a good NCAA team for... Huntington "Junior College." Ya right. Do they drug test athletes at that fake college? Addy is so shady! It would be like if Katelyn Tuohy gave up a full ride to NC State to go to Cal State Bakersfield!
Biggest lie on this message board. You might want to take a look at her results. Wiley has a very smooth, even progression from her freshman year until now. NEVER had a single jump in performance. Not even once. Her biggest jump was as a freshman in college, not even in high school. And she didn't suddenly come out of nowhere as a senior- she was state champion as a freshman in 4:46 with zero running background and won high school nationals as a junior. But don't let the facts and the truth get in the way of a good lie.
Now if you want to talk HUGE out of nowhere improvements, you should look at Tuohy's race history. It looks like a roller coaster at an amusement park - impossible improvements followed by drops that look like the Grand Canyon.
Huntington University is one of the most conservative, evangelical Christian universities out there. Sadly, these kids are taught to trust their elders and leaders without question, spun stories about how the secular world is seeking to bring down good Christians and Christian organizations, and when transgressed against to forgive those who have abused them.
I grew up adjacent to Christian evangelicalism, and have many friends and family who swum in the deep ends of those waters. Some still do, some got out. Many did not stay safe.
You know, David Woods, the journalist who brought much of this HU/Johnson stuff to the public eye, is himself publicly an evangelical Christian. Just about every religious tradition contains elements that can sacralize existing orders and elements that can prophetically criticize them. Your generalizing about evangelical Christians seems just the mirror image of the "us against them" you're accusing them of.
It's not the individual evangelical Christians. It's the institutions that protect predators. See, as an example, the Southern Baptist Convention.
Christianity is not the problem. It's the leaders who chastise followers who might question them, then take advantage of those followers, and live high on the hog at the expense of those who rely on them for spiritual leadership.
Tale as old as time. Demagogues be demagoguing no matter the religion or sect.
But it's always worse in the groups who put strong emphasis on obeyance, conformity, and blind faith in fallible humans. It's not just evangelical Christians.
Huntington University is one of the most conservative, evangelical Christian universities out there. Sadly, these kids are taught to trust their elders and leaders without question, spun stories about how the secular world is seeking to bring down good Christians and Christian organizations, and when transgressed against to forgive those who have abused them.
I grew up adjacent to Christian evangelicalism, and have many friends and family who swum in the deep ends of those waters. Some still do, some got out. Many did not stay safe.
Nothing will happen to the good Christian leaders of Huntington University from Huntington. They are beyond reproach, or at most subject to good old fashioned Christian Reconciliation.
The Johnsons may not be there in the future, but they will replace one set of predators with another, chosen by the predators at the top who are running the place.
This is not to say you cannot have a good experience at Huntington or other ultra conservative Christian universities. You may fly under the radar of predators and make it out fine, none the wiser to what happens to some of your peers (because you're not to ask questions, of course).
I feel for these kids. Yes, they should get way, and know better than to come in the first place. Yet, they've been trained all their life, in many cases, not to question authority and to accept the excuses of those who abuse and prey on others and practice the same forgiveness that will be denied to them if they even step a toe out of line.
I understand that you hate evangelical Christianity but at least try to make an intellectually honest argument. There are unfortunately tons of cases like this in our world, the majority not being at Christian institutions. Why are we supposed to believe that it’s Christian teachings that enabled this at Huntington when this occurs across institutions across all worldviews and religious traditions?
I can’t think of any evangelical Christian that wouldn’t want justice for everyone involved and anyone who does not is acting contrary to the Bible. The idea that evangelical Christians are taught to trust leaders without question is simply false. As is your accusation that these institutions are filled with predators seeking to take advantage of others.
Evangelical Christians should and do oppose this type of behavior more staunchly than any other group. It was predominantly Christians who brought about the end of slavery, segregation and child labor. It’s predominantly Christian organizations that fight human trafficking and serve the victims of sexual abuse. The fact that some supposed “Christians” are acting contrary to the teachings of evangelical Christianity does not show that it is their teachings that enable this type of abuse.
If Huntington was acting in accordance to biblical Christianity, they would have done everything in their power to protect that victims and bring justice against the Johnsons.
No, I don't hate evangelical Christianity.
You're right—if Huntington was acting in accordance with biblical Christianity then they would have protected the victims. They did not. That is the problem I have.
And they are not the only evangelical Christian organization that cares more for their image, or avoiding difficult situations, than following biblical teachings.
For example, the Southern Baptist Convention swept reports and records of abusive pastors under the rugs for years, keeping information from search committees that would have kept them from hiring pastors that had abused in the past, and continued to be abused after a new placement.
To be fair, this is not an evangelical Christian issue alone. Other groups have these same issues.
Also, to be clear, I don't everyone working for these organizations—Huntington included—are terrible folks who prey on students there.
That's part of what makes me sad—there are some great folks who attend Huntington, and who work there, who do try to lead god-fearing lives in accordance with the teachings of the Bible.
Then there are the folks who knowingly hired predators, kept them around, and then swept their transgressions under the rugs when they came to light and, in part, viewed the victims as not victims, but transgressors in their own right.
Still, the main point I was trying to make was this—folks ask why athletes would go there even after all this came out. The answer? Because they were trained to ignore these issues by the very institutions they grew up in and around, most likely.
Lol. The screen name of the person who posted about her sudden senior year record 1600 (a race that Lauren paced her in) was outofnowhere. And still going with 4:46 in the 1600 like that was some sort of harbinger? Of course beyond being laughable (it is a time virtually every good high school miler has exceeded at her same age), you leave out that she ran that time after she started specially training with the Johnsons as a freshman. Quite the twisted thread.
The whole AW saga is a farce. Only someone brain damaged would think any of it is on the level. But this mickey mouse sport cannot address such a blatant case and Addidas signed her anyway. So the joke is on us. Fake it to make it works so long as you do it with the slightest competence.
I feel bad for Neideck this was defiantly not his fault and if I understand the situation well he got pushed out by people on the team who trained with the Johnsons. Yoder seems to as well.
I feel bad for Neideck this was defiantly not his fault and if I understand the situation well he got pushed out by people on the team who trained with the Johnsons. Yoder seems to as well.
He was indeed defiant. He wasn't pushed out, he was forced to resign or be terminated due to a title 9 complaint. yoder got out of there as fast as he could! You don't think Roark offered him the distance job?